Lawn mower



June 9, 1925.-

-o. G. -Ro-MIG LAWN Anowaln Filed Ot. 25, 1923 mvENToR Ora/7?@ Hom/g .ATTORNEY Patented Jurre 9, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,541,395 PATENT OFFICE.

ORANGE G. ROMIG, or AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOB. or ONE-HALF 'ro T. KOLINS, 0F AKRON, eHIo.

LAWN MOWER.

Application led October 25, 1923.' Serial No. 670,779.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ORANGE Gr. ROMIG, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Akron, Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lawn Mowers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lawn-mowers and it has, for its primary object, a particular type of construction of the above designated machines which shall facilitate the sharpening of the cutting blades.

Itis well known, of course, that the blades of lawn-mowers may be sharpened by interchanging certain parts in order to provide for rotation of the blades in an opposite direction to their normal movement, whereby abrasive material may be disposed upon the stationary cutting blade and the rotating blades operated to effect a grinding and sharpening action. However, such method of operation requires so much time and trouble that it is not particularly desirable from a practical standpoint. Consequently,

one of the principal objects of my inven-y tion is to provide a lawn-mower of such construction that the rotation of the cuting blades may be reversed by a simple manipulation of certain added parts of such character as to require very little time.

It is true lawn-mowers have been especially constructed to provide for sharpening the blades thereof by means of reversing their direction of rotation, but it appears that suc-h constructions-are of such character as to necessitate a material departure from standard designs. Consequently, standard lawn-mowers may not be adapted to be changed to such an extent as to conform with the structures proposed and as a result only new mowers may be provided with the necessary devices.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for reversing the direction of rotation of the blades of a lawn-mower by a simple change in the standard design of any machine, which may be accomplished with very little expense and labor. v

With these and other objects -in view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and then fully pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the principal parts of a lawn-mower to which my improved construction is applied in order to accomplish the purpose of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one end of a blade-supporting spindle and a gear therefor which is especially adapted to secure rotation ofthe spindle selectively in two directions;

Fig. 3 isan end view lof a gear utilized in a lawn-mower that is especially constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV'IV of Fig. 2; f

Fig. 5 is another sectional view taken along the line V-V 0f Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a modied form of blade-supporting spindle and attachments therefor to accomplish the purpose of the invention, which is illustrated in the preceding figures. l

Inpracticing -my invention a standard lawn-mower may be changed slightly to secure rotation of the blade-carrying spindle in two ydirections by drilling openings of suitable depth in the ends of the blade-supporting spindle. A transverse slot is also cut through the spindle adjacent each end and a spring is inserted in each of the openings to engage a cylinder disposed therein, which is provided with a slot. adapted to register with the corresponding one in the end of the spindle. Each end of the spindle is interiorly threaded to provide for the reception of a threaded plug, which controls the position of the cylinder and thereby regulates the position of a key disposed through the slot of the spindle and that of the cylinder. The gear ordinarily mountedupon each end of the spindle, has a tubular shank or extension which has a series of ratchets faced in one direction whereby rotation of the spindle is secured in only one direction by engagement of the gear with the driving wheels. The tubular extending portion of the gear may be provided with an additional extension having another series of ratchet members faced in the opposite direction to those normally formed thereon. The key projecting through the spindle at each end thereof engages one or the other of the series of ratchet members on the gear, whereby rotation of the spindle is secured in one drection or the other, according to the position of the key, which position is easily regulated by manipulation of the threaded nov lOO

LVA

member disposed in. the opening provided in each end' of the spindle.

A better understanding of my invention may,v behadby. a referencetothe drawings, in which. only the main parts of a lawns mower are shown, since my invention is particularly concerned with the mounting`n of'- the driving gears upon the blade-supporting spindle, the remaining portion ofthe constructionl being of any standard design. As will beseen inl Fig. 1 ,y the lawn-mower includes a plurality ofdriving wheels l providedwith internal'racks 2 adapted to mesh with'` a gear 3 at each end ofv 'a spindle e', whereby 'the spindle is driven when the wheels are forced' over the ground; ln or der to accomplish the purpose of my invention, the spindles` is provided with a long'tudinalj opening 5 at each'end, into which springs. 6 are inserted' to engage the end walls of the openings and cylinders 7, each of which is provided withV a slot 8 adapted to registerl with an elongate transverse slot 9,- adjacent each end ofthe spindle.

The spindle d is internally-threaded at each endto provide for the reception of threaded plugs, l0 that are inserted therein to engage the cylinders 7 andv regulate their po` sitions against the act-ion of the springs 6 to thereby properly adjust keys 11 disposed through the slots Sand' 9. @ne of the gears 3 iS mounted upon the exterior surface at each endl of the'spindle l andV is provided with tubular extensions l?) having Vtwo sets of ratchet members 1 4 and l5, which are faced in opposite directions, as will be clearly seen` in Fig. 3.

'In operating a lawn-mower to secure the benefit of my invention from the construe tion above described', the plug l0 normally innsuch position that the key ll. engages one of the series of ratchets lil; wherebv normal operation of the blades upon the supporting spindleet is secured. However, when it is desired to sharpen the blades` the plugA l() is screwed intothe spindle l to force the cylinder "T, against the action ofthe spring 6, towards the center of the spindle whereby the key 1 1 engages only, the second set of ratchet members l5. The operating position of the lawn-mower may then be reversed and the spindle operated in a reversed direction byv pushing thel mower forward to operate the driving wheels l. lt is apparent,v of course, that the manipulation of the plugl()` is effected at both ends of the spindle land that the construction is similar inleach end. It will be .mderstcod, of course, that the lawn-mower is ordinarily so constructed that the blades normally operate inx only one direction andj for example, when theV lawn-mower is operated in a reverse directi'onL the blades remain stationary. The invention provides for the operation of the blades in 1both directions by an adjustment of the device hereinbefore described to select the proper ratchet members to obtain the desii-ed motion. To secure snarpening of the blad it onl necessary toapplyK antebrasnfe r `'ipound thereto after the parts have slots adapted to register with those in the spindle. leys filare disposed'throughdthe. rods and the spindle Unas in the pre-V ferred construction. However, adjustment of the rods an'l consequently7 ofthe keys it issecured by a. somewhat diiferentconfr spring 20 is disposedlineach ir lo in engagement. with I Y and a threaded plug 2l'. y member disposed' through a able open of the spindle ,1.67, engaging the rods 18 and forcing them outwardly lagainst the action of the spring 20 to position the. keys 19 in agenumt with the inner set ofr ratchet .ibers ofthe .3. i The wedge is prod with a central opening adapted to ster with au opening in the spindle 16, through which a pinl may be d'isposed'to maintain the wedge 22m its normal posi? tion.

When it is desiredto reverse the rotation of the gears 3 in this construction, the pin is removed and the wedge 22 is withdrawn to permit the springs 2O to force the rodsv i8 inwardly toward the center ofthe spindle i6 and ette/ct an engagement of the keys i9 with the outer ratchet membersl of the gears 3. f

lt will be seen from'the foregoing description, thatv a newly constructed"lawn-mower may be provided with a simple attaclnnent for drivingthe cuttingk blades in both; directions in order to facilitate the'sharpening thereof, or lawn-mowers of standardk design that have been in service for some time may be disassembled and easily provided1 with the simple devices necessary to accomplish the purpose of my invention. My invention possesses desirable advantages notv only-byreason of the fact that it may be appliedato lawn-mowers of standard eonstructionthat have heenin service, but'y also by reason of the fact that it adds very littleftoQ-theex pense of production of a new mower- 1in order to attain decidedadvantages-over the usual type of constructioni Although l havel shown and specifically described apreferred Yform and' modification thereof, it willbe understood thatfmyinven j in substantially the centerV lli tion is not limited thereby, but constructions embodying the same principle may be utilized by effecting slight changes without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I desire, therefore, that no limitations shall be imposed except such as are indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels and a rotatable blade-supporting spindle, of gears mounted upon the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels said gears being provided with two sets o2 oppositely faced ratchet members and adjustable means for selectively engaging the ratchet members.

2. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels and a rotatable blade-supporting spindle, of gears mounted upon the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels, said gears being provided with tubular extensions having two series of oppositely faced ratchet members and adjustable means for engaging the ratchet members.

3. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels, of a rotatable blade-supporting spindle provided with elongate slo-ts, keys adjustably mounted in the slots and a gear mounted upon each end of the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels, said gear having oppositely faced ratchet members adapted to be selectively engaged by the corresponding key.

4t. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels, of a rotatable blade-supporting spindle having a threaded longitudinal opening in each end and provided with a transverse slot adjacent each end, a cylinder disposed in each opening having a slot adapted to register with the corresponding slot in the spindle, a key disposed in the slot at each end of the spindle through the slot of the cylinder, means for maintaining the cylinder in adjusted position and a gear mounted upon each end of the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels, said gear having oppositely faced ratchet members adapted to be selectively engaged by the corresponding key.

5. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels of arotatable blade-supporting spindle having a threaded longitudinal opening in each end and provided with a transverse slot adjacent each end, a cylinder disposed in each opening having a slot adapted to register with the corresponding slot in the spindle, a key disposed in the slot in each end of the spindle through the slot of the cylinder, a spring disposed in each opening in engagement with the cylinder and the end wall of the opening, a threaded member screwed into the opening to engage the cylinder and a gear mounted upon each end of the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels, said gear having a. tubular extension provided With two sets of interiorly located oppositely faced ratchet members adapted to be selectively engaged by the corresponding key by manipulation of the threaded member.

6. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels, of a tubular rotatable blade-supporting spindle provided with an elongate slot adjacent each end, a plurality of rods each having a slot adjacent one end disposed4 in the spindle, a key adapted to fit in the slot of each rod and project through a registered slot of the spindle, means for maintaining the rods in adjusted position comprising a plurality of springs and a centrally located Wedge member and a gear mounted upon each end of the spindle having two series of ratchet members adapted to be selectively engaged by the corresponding key according to the position of the rods.

7. In a lawn-mower, the combination with a plurality of driving wheels and a rotatable blade-supporting spindle, of gears mounted upon the spindle in operative relation to the driving wheels, said gears being provided with contiguous sets of oppositely faced ratchet members, keys adjustably mounted upon the spindle to engage the ratchet members of the gears and means for maintaining the keys in engagement with a selected set of the ratchet members.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witneses.

ORANGE G. ROMIG. Witnesses FRED. A. LIND, W. B. I-IAIsnL. 

